BEYOND OUR WALLS

March 1999 Missions Bulletin of First Presbyterian Church, Las Cruces, N.M. Vol. 1, No. 4

The ends of the earth! Where are they? Are we there whenever we leave civilization behind? Maybe they include the interior jungles of the Philippines or New Guinea where almost no metal tools are to be found. Or what about a tribal society where women stretch their lips to the size of small plates and part of a favorite ceremony of men is battering one another in violent stick fights?

Suppose the only way for a missionary to get to some far place is by off-road vehicle and canoe. If we use this as a criterion, John and Gwen Haspels returned to one of the ends of the earth this past June. They used a tractor for their overland trip and crossed the Dima River in a dugout canoe. In remote western Ethiopia, they resumed their work among the Suri, the people with the lip-stretching, stick-fighting and other customs so strange to us. But they also returned to find the new society of Christians they had left six months before, struggling to discern the will of God’s Holy Spirit for followers of Christ in that culturally unusual society.

John and Gwen Haspels have taken seriously Christ’s declaration of Acts 1:8 that his followers would be his witnesses to the ends of the earth. This explains, in part, why they chose to work in such a geographically and culturally remote place. But it’s only a partial explanation. The Haspels were both "missionary kids." Gwen grew up in Sudan and John in Ethiopia, and both attended high school in Alexandria, Egypt. They absorbed the commitments of their parents and became familiar with the people groups of that part of the world. They learned where the needs were, and learned that the remote Suri were without Christ. The AD2000 and Beyond Movement has listed the Suri among the world’s unreached groups.

After their college educations in the U.S. and their marriage, the Haspels worked for four years in Ethiopia among non-Suri groups. They had to leave Ethiopia when the Marxists came in to power in 1977. They returned to the U.S. for two years and then, worked in the Sudan. After the Marxist regime fell, they entered western Ethiopia and, eventually, put into effect their plan to reach the Suri. They had to plan carefully, make sure they had adequate funding, establish a development contract with the Ethiopian government, and obtain work and residence permits.

During 1994 the Haspels moved to the community of Tulegit to live among the Suri. Since then a shop, a health clinic, and a school have been built. Springs were capped, improved seed and farm tools were introduced, and over 15,000 cattle were vaccinated against rinderpest. From time to time, Suri men and women would take Christ into their lives.

In 1996 our Session "adopted" the Suri for special learning and prayer. Both the Suri Project and Witnessing Ministries of Christ (among the Dalits of northern India) are approved for support by the Presbyterian Church (USA) and First Presbyterian of Las Cruces helps support both projects.

In November, 1997 the Suri Church was born! Eighty-five Suri adults and children were baptized, as well as thirteen others. Soon the Suri began building a new thatched-roof place of worship. Mike and Andrea Bryant, with Wycliffe Bible Translators, came to analyze the unwritten language and prepare it for translation. By sometime in 1998, they had translated Genesis 1-11, the Lord’s Prayer, and the Ten Commandments. They developed a set of literacy books, and a Wycliffe literacy worker arrived to set up literacy programs.

After several months in the United States the Haspels flew back to Africa in June, 1998. Air service to the area had been stopped, and they had to endure a difficult overland trip and a dugout canoe ride across the Dima River to reach the Suri. In Tulegit they found the Suri Christians faithfully carrying on, though they were experiencing some of the same kinds of difficulties the apostle Paul wrote about to the earliest Christian churches. Do pray for the Suri Christians and those who are bringing them the gospel, better health, and other good things. For informed praying, don’t forget that you can borrow the video "The Suri Choosing to Live by Faith." The church office also has an album of pictures on the Suri and the Suri Project.

PRAY ALSO FOR:

1. Donna Evans, with Wycliffe Bible Translators, who is working to get her Bible translation to the Bible Society in Indonesia as soon as possible. Dedication of the translation will take place later in Jakarta.

3. Jim and Tracy Patton and their son Micah as they minister in a country in the Middle East next summer. Jim will be a Project Director and is still learning about his many responsibilities.

4. Lu Stephens, who returned to Japan in October and November and continues friendship evangelism among Asian students in Portland, Oregon. She also helps prepare those who accept Christ to minister when they return to their own countries.

5. Bob and Donna Waguespack. Severe air pollution remains a threat to their health. Bob is teaching practical ministry and missions part time at National Baptist Seminary in Mexico City.

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